A variety of different mechanical assemblies include, or may benefit from, an ability to freely rotate clockwise and/or counterclockwise relative to a shaft, while also being capable of locking to the shaft. In some instances, a ratchet assembly may be employed for such assemblies, where a gear having a plurality of gear teeth are adapted to engage a stopper mechanism to resist rotation in a first direction, while allowing rotation in the an opposite, second direction. In some instances, such a ratchet assembly using a gear can be switched to enable rotation in the first direction while inhibiting rotation in the second direction. Such conventional ratchet assemblies can exhibit various drawbacks in some applications. Accordingly, improvements for such mechanical assemblies may be desirable.